Our decision to run three times in Q1 meant that we had no new Soft tyres left, but nonetheless, making Q2 was an excellent result and we can now plan to race with the Alfa Romeos and possibly with Tsunoda. Two cars into the top 10, and it was the new boy Ricciardo who ended up pipping his team mate by just 0.047s to sixth on the grid. Sergio was unfortunate to just miss out on making it through to Q3. For the first race of the year it’s important for us to show some good potential for the season ahead and I think we’ve managed to do that today. I’m really looking forward to the race now.”, BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT02 Honda leaves the garage during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. Add in that on race pace they look much closer to their rivals, and all is not lost ahead of the first race of the season. Last modified on Fri 9 Apr 2021 11.45 EDT Formula One is expected to soon confirm it will adopt three sprint qualifying races this season as a test for the format. It was not the only standout moment during qualifying as RacingNews365.com gives you the details of what we can take away from Satuday's running in Sakhir. Bahrain Grand Prix, Friday 26th March 2021. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images). Qualifying: 2:00 - 3:00 AEDT; Monday 29th March 2021. It was really exciting to drive these cars again with low fuel and peak performance from the tyres. It’s unfortunate as there was pace for a lot more today. There are a number of possible race strategies, depending also on the tyres each driver has available. pin. In general, though, I’m happy. We’ll need to see how the weather is tomorrow, do our best and see what we can get out of the race. F1 fans in India will get see thrilling action live at Star Sports Network, in Asia, it will be at Fox Sports Asia, Australian fans will get to see the race live at Fox Sports Australia and Network Ten. I think we’re still in a reasonable position and have the potential to make our way forward during the race.”, “We were fairly happy with the performance of both car’s this morning – having dealt with the problem on Yuki’s car overnight – and both drivers seemed happy with their cars during FP3. Get up to speed with everything you need to know about the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix, which takes place over 57 laps of the 5.412-kilometre Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir on Sunday, March 28. Stream Every Practice, Qualifier & Race of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship™ Live & On-Demand on Kayo. You never really know where you are at the first race of the year when the fuel comes out and the engine modes are turned up. Alpine look to have dropped behind arch-rivals McLaren for the time being, but it is early days in the 2021 season…, “We have to be pleased with our qualifying session today. There’s definitely room for improvement on my side, so I’m just looking forward to being able to get into another qualifying soon. Valtteri was a bit compromised in the final session by having used an extra soft in the first session but overall, it was good effort by the team and drivers, and should put us in a strong position for tomorrow. Using the links above you can find the full weekend schedule, including details of practice and qualifying sessions, support races, press conferences and special events, plus the latest news headlines, circuit information and F1 race results. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images). I have been struggling in FP2 and FP3 as I could not find the feeling with the car but I worked quite a lot on the driving and in qualy I was actually quite confident I would be able to do the lap I wanted. Anything can happen and we’ll push hard to make up some places and comeback. Close. The Brit, 36, moved level … “Not a bad result for the first qualifying of the year: of course, it could have been a bit better, as I made a couple of small mistakes here and there in my laps, but it could have been a lot worse. Post Qualifying. pin. Sainz suffered engine issues in Q1 but recovered well to follow his team mate into the top 10 shootout, coming home a credible eight in his first qualifying for his new team. Verstappen tops Hamilton in F1 Bahrain GP qualifying. “I’m really pleased with my performance today, it’s one of my best qualifying positions I’ve had with the team. We might not be on pole but we have two cars at the front and an extra set of the hard tyres, so hopefully we can create some opportunities from that. That meant the German departed at the first time of asking, but Stroll at last saved the team’s blushes by making Q3. Six different teams in the top 10 today and it's clear that simply being "good" will not be good enough this year. The Silver Arrows looked off the pace of Red Bull yesterday, and ultimately wound up four-tenths adrift under the lights in Sakhir. “I enjoyed the experience a lot. I’ll analyse the data tonight with my engineers, ahead of the race tomorrow, as I am continuing to learn from every lap that I complete. Get up to speed with everything you need to know about the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix, which takes place over 57 laps of the 5.412-kilometre Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir on Sunday, March 28. Max Verstappen is the man to beat after the Dutchman topped all three practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, leaving Mercedes with much work to do. We got everything done that we wanted to do – it was difficult circumstances with the heat, but the guys did a good job. Pierre had two strong runs on the soft tyre in Q3 and is starting in a good place tomorrow to pick up some great points. Also, it’s not going to be easy because of the wind, but that’s the same for everyone.". An F1 track guide to the Bahrain International circuit at Sakhir, the home of the 2021 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. We’ll try to make up some positions from our starting spot but we have to be wary of the cars around us as some of our competitors are starting on the medium tyres so it will be a close race.”, “It was a very disappointing qualifying on our side of the garage. The sample of one provided by the Bahrain Grand Prix certainly suggests so. We had mixed fortunes with the yellow flags at the end of Q1 with Nicholas being unable to use DRS on the final straight as a result, but George largely unaffected. First one of the season, so I think we’re pretty happy with sixth and seventh for the team and getting to see where the car is – it’s a good position for tomorrow. formula 1 gulf air bahrain grand prix 2021 26 Mar 2021 - 28 Mar 2021 Rolex, Formula 1 official timepiece (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images) To be honest, after having had a disruptive run, it was kind of okay. But in the final year of these regulations you need to push the needle further to not only beat Red Bull but also some of the other teams. After testing it is always difficult to know where you are and we really didn’t know how it would be in qualifying but when you have a lap like that in Q3 and such a good feeling in the car you can be happy. Both drivers put in excellent laps to get us into Q3 and then to P6 and P7 on the grid. However, it was bad luck for Esteban to not make it further than Q1 with a yellow flag hindering his second run. Stream Every Practice, Qualifier & Race of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship™ Live & … The new Formula 2 format, with two races today, were also interesting. Great work from the whole team, along with our colleagues from Mercedes, which allowed us to execute three very good qualifying sessions. F1 spoiler. 752 shares. "There will be time to analyse qualifying in depth next week, but now I want to switch my full focus to tomorrow’s race. 1.3k. I had one little moment with it where I felt I could have done better. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images), BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Carlos Sainz of Spain driving the (55) Scuderia Ferrari SF21 during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. The latest Formula 1 news and news from other motorsport series you will find on RacingNews365.com, the world’s leading independent F1 website bringing daily news from the world of F1, as well as the top drivers including world champion Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo or youngsters like Lando Norris and George Russell.. 3 days ago. share. With Nikita, with rushing, something went wrong with his brake-by-wire setting. We’ve made gains in each session so far this weekend, so let’s see what happens when the lights go out.”, BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Alpine A521 Renault during final practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. Qualifying is always amazing to experience in Formula 1 and I have missed that feeling! We even got really close to the top 10 and to miss out on Q3 for less than a tenth really shows the progress we have made compared to last year. “It’s a pleasant relief to get the first quali out of the way and get a decent result. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images), BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: The Red Bull Racing team celebrate the pole position of Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. We have to finish it off tomorrow but if I can have a good start I’m confident we can do a good job.”, “Congratulations to Max and the Team on pole position as that’s the perfect way to start the season. David Coulthard gets a cake in the face to celebrate his birthday from pole-sitter Max Verstappen after qualifying for the 2021 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix. ", "It was tough today and I am not completely satisfied. Sakhir, Bahrain. Then in qualifying, maybe not everybody saw, but we had both cars stopped on the FIA weighbridge. He’s put in a really good performance already this weekend, so I’m really pleased with that. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 1, Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir, Bahrain, Qualifying Day. Formula 1 2021 Qualifying Race Live Telecast Information: F1 Bahrain GP 2021 Qualifying race Live telecast information is here. 2 days ago. I’m obviously not happy with my last attempt in Q3. Alonso used all his experience to steer his A521 into Q3, but once there could only get on the pace of the Aston Martin. It was nip and tuck in Q2 and it looked like Mercedes had a small advantage on the medium tyre but then Max came back on the softs. In United Stated the live streaming will be available at Watch ESPN & Univision Now. Tomorrow is race day and we’ll try to push even more. Even though we are not starting where we want to be, it is tomorrow that counts. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images). However, the qualifying session for me was the best the car has felt so far this weekend. We wanted to do three runs each with both cars, but the time gets very short to do them – we couldn’t do all that. Formula 1 returns in 2021 with a zaftig 23 race schedule, starting with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 28, and concluding with the costomary Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Dec. 12. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images), BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Pierre Gasly of France and Scuderia AlphaTauri prepares to drive in the garage during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. After a lacklustre FP3 which saw both drivers down the order, qualifying was a much better show from the Woking-based team. (Photo by Mario Renzi - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images), BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia driving the (3) McLaren F1 Team MCL35M Mercedes on track during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. However, there are a number of options and the cooler temperatures expected tomorrow might mix up the strategies even more. He’s only had 1.5 days of testing and everything is very new for him in terms of how the car feels, but he will be competitive in the race tomorrow and should not be counted out. I’m looking forward to my first ever race with the team and we’ll give our best to gain positions and finish as high as possible. (Photo by Dan Istitene - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images), GIOVINAZZI Antonio (ita), Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN C41, action during Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2021 from March 26 to 28, 2021 on the Bahrain International Circuit, in Sakhir, Bahrain - Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI, Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN C41, pitstop practice during Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2021 from March 26 to 28, 2021 on the Bahrain International Circuit, in Sakhir, Bahrain - Photo Florent Gooden / DPPI. Sunday 28th March 2021. Red Bull seem to have more stability, particularly in the wind. It will be a massive challenge for us to beat them but we’re starting from the best possible place.”, BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 27: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Red Bull Racing prepares to drive in the garage during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 27, 2021 in Bahrain, Bahrain. I wasn’t totally confident with the car balance in any of the practice sessions this weekend. Today helps us confirm the positive feeling we had after testing: we have improved compared to last year and we feel we can have a lot more fun this season. hide. “It’s a great feeling to be on pole and I haven’t experienced a season start like this. Download or subscribe. New to Kayo? All-in-all the result doesn’t look great, but the guys now have their first qualifying under their belt. It’s only the first qualy of the year and it’s run in very strange conditions. It’s going to be a tough, long race but we need to capitalise where we can and not make any mistakes. It was the 64th pole for the Red Bull Racing team. He’s got a huge amount of maturity and experience and he’s adapting well. It's just what the doctor ordered! "George completed an excellent lap and, with some drivers missing out due to the yellows, he set a time quick enough for a place in Q2. Bahrain was a sample of one but that qualifying speed indicated that AlphaTauri has got its act together in 2021. By Michael Lamonato March 27, 2021 9:32 AM. The car had felt good coming from FP3 and the communication with the team was really good. The race is going to be interesting as we see how the cars are going to behave in windier conditions. After the victory in Abu Dhabi the whole Team has been pushing really hard and even more motivated. After seeing his first lap time deleted in Q2 for exceeding track limits, the pressure was on and the Mexican opted to remain on the slower medium tyre for his next run. It’s a good reward for the team after the good work put in over the winter.